91039: Magnetic fusion: The DOE fusion energy sciences program
For over 40 years, the U.S. has been trying to harness the energy source of the hydrogen bomb to produce electricity. Controlling fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, requires confining and heating deuterium and tritium nuclei to the point where they will collide (a D-T reaction) producing nuclear energy in a sustained, regulated way. One path to this goal, called magnetic fusion energy (MFE), is to use very strong magnetic fields to confine a deuterium and tritium plasma while heating it to fusion temperatures. The potential benefits from fusion are enormous. The fuel resources are vast. Radioactive waste would be generated from a D-T reaction, but the long term buildup would be orders of magnitude less than that of a comparable fission reactor.
- Research Organization:
- Committee for the National Inst. for the Environment, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 502636
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-323838/3/XAB; TRN: 71740123
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 24 Jan 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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